An Overview of Local Industry in Rojava’s Jazira Region

Industry has been developing in Northern Syria despite the ongoing blockade and limited capacity. Many fields of industry, such as food and textiles, have been utilising the raw materials that grow in the region.

The General Management of Industry in Jazira has been working to secure the basic needs for the factories and workshops. The biggest concern is marketing these products, and exporting them to the neighbouring countries. There have been some attempts to co-ordinate with the General Management of Commerce to find ways of getting traders interested in investing and buying these products to export them, in a strategy to improve the economy of the region.

Since the start of 2012, many factories have been built in Jazira. So far there are about 450 factories and workshops. The factories manufacture different food products, such as canned meats and vegetables, cooking oil, crisps, coffee, flour, cleaning products, plastics, bottled water and organic manure.

The General Management of Industry is also working to co-ordinate with traders, organise their industrial records and grant them authorisation to build factories and make necessary arrangements to calculate the level of production, carry out a feasibility study, and show the importance of their projects and society’s need for it. There is also a system for monitoring factories through the Department of Monitoring and Inspection, which ensures food hygiene and compliance with mandatory product standards.

One of the future plans of the General Management of Industry is to establish an industrial park which will secure electricity for the region.

Azad Bedran, a co-chair of the General Management of Industry, confirmed that there are plans for an industrial park. He said, “We will establish an industrial park in Tel Yerak. We will build 200 factories, some of them will manufacture food products, and some others will manufacture materials for construction. There will also be recycling and clothing factories. We will build factories to secure the needs of the people in Northern Syria, and for export to other countries.”

One of the important projects for industry that have started is an industrial school in Qamishlo, which will teach students abstract and practical lessons, and develop the computer technology level in the region. This step comes among many future plans to graduate people with the necessary expertise who will be involved in developing many industrial fields in the region.

Co-operation in Mesopotamia is a project from the Solidarity Economy Association.

Solidarity Economy Association Ltd. Is a not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder co-operative company limited by guarantee. It is registered under the Companies Act 2006 in England and Wales. Registered number 10733713.